Palo Alto Networks (PANW) Upgraded to Buy by Gabelli

Gabelli upgraded shares of Palo Alto Networks (NYSE:PANW) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has $207.00 price target on the network technology company’s stock.

Several other equities analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Palo Alto Networks to $276.00 and gave the stock a top pick rating in a research report on Monday, October 8th. Zacks Investment Research downgraded Palo Alto Networks from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Wednesday, September 12th. Robert W. Baird restated an outperform rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Thursday, October 18th. Summit Insights downgraded Palo Alto Networks from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Monday, October 29th. Finally, Wedbush initiated coverage on Palo Alto Networks in a report on Thursday, October 18th. They issued a neutral rating and a $225.00 price objective on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, thirty have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. The stock has an average rating of Buy and an average price target of $240.26.

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Shares of PANW traded down $3.10 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $172.95. 5,456,383 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,400,343. The company has a quick ratio of 1.93, a current ratio of 1.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. The firm has a market cap of $16.60 billion, a P/E ratio of -314.45, a PEG ratio of 12.37 and a beta of 1.22. Palo Alto Networks has a fifty-two week low of $140.12 and a fifty-two week high of $239.50.

Palo Alto Networks (NYSE:PANW) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 29th. The network technology company reported ($0.01) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of ($0.03) by $0.02. Palo Alto Networks had a negative return on equity of 1.99% and a negative net margin of 5.04%. The firm had revenue of $656.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $632.16 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.74 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 30.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks will post 0.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

In other Palo Alto Networks news, Director Stanley J. Meresman sold 1,979 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.22, for a total transaction of $463,521.38. Following the transaction, the director now owns 5,716 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,338,801.52. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Mark D. Mclaughlin sold 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $235.24, for a total value of $9,409,600.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 284,711 shares of company stock worth $62,090,136. 3.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of PANW. Hartford Investment Management Co. acquired a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the 2nd quarter worth $237,000. Aperio Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 28.4% in the 2nd quarter. Aperio Group LLC now owns 31,839 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $6,542,000 after purchasing an additional 7,049 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Asset Management Company LTD lifted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 7.0% in the 2nd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Asset Management Company LTD now owns 6,021 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $1,237,000 after purchasing an additional 393 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management & Equity Research Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 87.2% in the 2nd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management & Equity Research Inc. now owns 151,880 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $31,207,000 after purchasing an additional 70,759 shares during the period. Finally, Emerald Advisers Inc. PA lifted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 36.8% in the 2nd quarter. Emerald Advisers Inc. PA now owns 12,912 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $2,653,000 after purchasing an additional 3,472 shares during the period. 81.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Palo Alto Networks

Palo Alto Networks, Inc provides security platform solutions worldwide. The company provides firewall appliances and software; Panorama, a security management solution for the control of appliances deployed on an end-customer's network as a virtual or a physical appliance; and Virtual System Upgrades, which are available as extensions to the virtual system capacity that ships with physical appliances.